The Edgerton Database |
Horace Backus Edgerton, son of Uriah and Anna (Smith) Edgerton.
Fanny Bowker, daughter of Elijah and Mary (Wood) Bowker.
Children:
Horace Backus Edgerton was born in Bennington,
Vermont on December 31, 1899, the youngest son of Uriah and Anna (Smith)
Edgerton. Horace’s birth was not
registered at Bennington, nor is any record found elsewhere in the Bennington
County vicinity. The birthdate listed
above is derived from the precise age at death listed on Horace’s gravestone. Horace was raised in Bennington, Vermont and
resided there for most of his life – in the northern district of town known
as Hinsdillville. He was married at
Wilmington, Vermont on February 23, 1823 to Miss Fanny Bowker, daughter of
Elijah and Mary (Wood) Bowker of Wilmington.
Fanny was born at Wilmington on April 12, 1803. Horace and Fanny Edgerton had a family of five
children: three sons, Norman, George
Horace (1st) and George Horace (2nd); and two daughters, Mary and Martha
H. The elder two children were born at
Wilmington and the younger three at Bennington. The death of the elder George Horace was
noted in the Harwood Diaries (now held at the Bennington Historical Society)
under the date June 8, 1836, as follows: “Horace Edgerton 2nd…died at Bennington, Vermont…Wheels of wagon ran over his head and killed him instantly.” The household of Horace B. Edgerton was recorded
in the 1830 Federal
Census of
Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont (pg. 41), with the following
enumeration: 1 male “of 30 and under 40” (Horace); 3 males “of 20 and under 30” (?); 2 males “of 5 and under 10” (sons Norman and George Horace 1st) 1 female “of 20 and under 30” (wife Fanny); and, 1 female “under 5 years of age” (daughter Mary). The household of Horace B. Edgerton was recorded
in the 1840 Federal
Census of
Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont (pg. 256), with the following
enumeration: 1 male “of 40 and under 50” (Horace); 1 male “of 15 and under 20” (son Norman); 1 female “of 30 and under 40” (wife Fanny); 1 female “of 10 and under 15” (daughter Mary); and, 1 female “of 5 and under 10” (daughter Martha). On May 20, 1844, “Harris B. Edgerton” of
Bennington, Vermont made a testimonial on behalf of Dr. Ira G. Frazier of
Troy, whom he had consulted for treatment of his chronic cancer. Horace claimed that after taking the doctor’s
medicine for four weeks, “one of the cancers on my neck as large as a
chestnut, fell out, without the use of even a knife, plaster or any other
outward application.” The testimonial
was published as advertisement for Dr. Frazier’s treatment in several
newspapers. Ironically, it appeared in
the Buffalo Courier issue of
Saturday, October 16, 1847 – nine months after Horace’s death. Horace B. Edgerton died on January 26, 1847,
presumably at Bennington, Vermont. He
was buried at the Hinsdillville Cemetery in North Bennington, where his
gravestone was inscribed: “HORACE B.
EDGERTON / DIED / Jan. 26, 1847 / AE 47 yrs & 26 ds.” Following Horace’s death, his eldest son, Norman,
presumably took over the family homestead.
Norman was listed as head of household in the 1850 Federal Census
of
Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont (pg. 225; dwelling #683; family #693;
enum. October 22, 1850), with the following enumeration:
Although the ages listed in the enumeration are
largely inaccurate, it seems certain that this was the family of Horace B.
Edgerton. Norman was actually aged 27
and his wife Martha (“Mary”) was aged 28.
The names of the three younger children are correct, but the ages are
all off by a few years. The household of Mrs. Fanny (Bowker) Edgerton was
recorded in the 1860
Federal Census of Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont (pg. 749; dwelling #827;
family #864; enum. July 18, 1860), as follows:
In the 1860’, Fanny went to live with her daughter and son-in-law, Martha and Samuel Wrisley, at Pittstown, Rensselaer County, New York, where she died there on March 21, 1870. She was buried in the family plot at Hinsdillville Cemetery, beside her husband, Horace, and two sons, George H. 1st and George H. 2nd. According to the inscription on her gravestone, she was “aged 66 years, 11 months and 22 days”. Fanny’s death was noted in
the 1870
Federal Census Mortality Schedule of
“Persons who Died during the Year ending 1st June 1870” in Pittstown, Rensselaer
County, New York (pg. 544, line 16), with the following particulars:
Original Source Documents: Newspaper
item – testimonial of Horace Backus Edgerton; Buffalo Courier – Saturday, October 16, 1847. 1830
Federal Census – household of Horace Backus Edgerton; Bennington,
Bennington Co., VT. 1840
Federal Census – household of Horace Backus Edgerton; Bennington,
Bennington Co., VT. 1850
Federal Census – household of Norman Edgerton; Bennington, Bennington
Co., VT. 1860
Federal Census – household of Mrs. Fanny (Bowker) Edgerton; Bennington,
Bennington Co., VT. 1870
Federal Census Mortality Schedule – Mrs Fanny (Bowker) Edgerton;
Pittstown, Rensselaer Co., NY; pg. 544, line 16. |